1999 Holden Jackaroo from Australia and New Zealand - Comments

12th Jun 2006, 04:53

I have a 98 Jackaroo which is the only car I have ever loved. Its got all the power in the world and has been everywhere. The only thing that bugs me is the surging and check engine light after a long trip. My mechanic says air flow meter, but he dosen't believe it. I will suggest the idle thing and let you know.

15th Jun 2006, 02:05

You say it is a very good offroader. I tend to disagree. The lack of ground clearance when standard in our 99 Olympic is close to stupid. We got stuck many times in the bush with our friend, who drove a patrol. His superior ground clearance meant that he got through, we just got high centered in the ruts and the wheels were off the deck. So i am wondering just what you mean when you say "offroading" and that it is a "good offroader". I must admit it is a very nice cruiser and highway car, very comfortable. Maybe it should have been higher or an AWD.

13th Jul 2006, 20:14

I have a 1999 Jackaroo and have had nothing but power problems from when it got to 3 years old.

It is now 6 years old, and at 100,000 kms, and the diesel has had two O-ring overhauls, and the solenoid valve replaced due to the engine light coming on.

If you have a 1999 model, you are entitled to a recall to have the O-rings completely reworked at no cost. I suggest anyone with this model contact your local Holden dealership, so you can be registered for this work to be done.

The car looks good, but unfortunately lacks the features under the bonnet the specs promised.

20th Aug 2006, 02:33

I am thinking of purchasing a Holden Jackaroo 1998 3.5l v6 auto 180,000 ks. I have never owned a 4x4 before, but like the look and feel of this vehicle. It will be a private sale any points that I should look for before closing the deal?

6th Mar 2007, 14:59

I was the original poster.

It a few years on now and I can give some advice. Check engine lights and surging issue. I resolved this and it has not come back. I had to pull apart the idle air control solenoid (which is part of the throttle assembly) because it was full of carbon from the EGR system outlet. Get a handbook to see where it is. I also cleaned the airflow meter inside with Brake Clean, but this was before I found the above issue.

Off Roading - Yep it's still good, I have done many many trips out into the bush with it, to places the tourists never see. I don't straddle it over rocks/humps higher than the ground clearance and there is no problem. Sand, and mud no issue for it, I often don't need low range at all. I like the handling on dirt roads. Have had it airborne once or twice accidentally, no damage.

11th May 2007, 12:55

Have a 1999 Jackaroo TD which has been excellent, has had injector replacements as per recall. Motor running perfectly power fine, starts cold, BUT. Recently, after going far enough to get warm, won't re-start after switched off, when hot, (normal running temp). Wait 15 to 20 minutes, starts first try every time. Idles fine, no surges or stalls, plenty of power. All perfect. Just have to wait till it cools down. Not so bad if I don't stall it on a busy intersection. Anyone else had this problem and cured it? No luck yet through dealer service.

17th May 2007, 00:05

We have 2002 Model SE Holden Jackaroo. It will run perfect but all of a sudden stall during short trips. It surges more if it hasn't been warmed up before driving and the check engine light comes on a lot - mostly towards the end of a long trip after it has been running fine.

13th Oct 2007, 00:46

I bought a 1998 3.5l Holden Jackaroo three years ago without any problems at all to this day. The car has done 285000kms has no oil leaks and starts first time hot or cold all the time, besides some clutch shudder when taking off, normally when I am towing a trailer, this has to be the best vehicle I have ever owned it just keeps going (in the bush or highway).

30th Nov 2007, 16:55

I bought a 1999 3.5 SE several years ago. (160000k's) The engine check light came on and stayed on permanently. My mechanic checked it out and the problem was with the ERG. He cleaned the wiring terminals, the throttle box, air filter box and the light went out after starting. I've replaced the air filter with a "Spitfire" high volume one, installed a 2.5 inch tuned exhaust system and highway cruising at 100kph is down to 12lts / 100k's. Have any other 3.5 owners changed over to LPG?

23rd Feb 2008, 05:41

Thank you for your suggestion to clean the airflow meter and idle valve solenoid. My 1999 model 3.5 Jackaroo also started stalling in the last week. The cleanup seems to have worked for now. I've owned it since new.

Last Sept, when the car had 170K km, I had a Tartarini LPG Injection system fitted. It seems to be running fine. It costs $1200 more than the standard single point system, but there is no loss of power and fuel usage is worst by 10-15%. I now get about 15-16 lit/100km. I'm happy about that. The mechanic very strongly suggested to maintain the correct valve clearances. He has installed the system on many Jackaroos and seems to have researched the Jackaroos well. Otherwise the valves can get burnt out. I also changed the oil to a lpg type, and changed the spark plugs to one level colder. I've now done about 10K km. The lpg tank fits nicely where the original fuel tank sits (usable 68lit) and a new 58 lit aux fuel tank had to be installed. This used the original fuel pump and gauge.

Apart from the occasional clutch shudder, rare lighting up of the engine check light (3 times) and now the stalling problem (which I hope I've fixed) I'm very happy with the Jackaroo.

3rd Apr 2008, 04:16

I wrote in the last comment. After spending much money on spares that the computer noted (MAF Sensor) and new idle air valve, the problem was tracked down to a leak in the intake manifold gasket by an auto electrician.

Also another specialist picked up that one of the injectors was dripping. These were sending all the wrong signals to the MAF sensor.

The Jackaroo is now running sweetly since the gasket was replaced and the injectors cleaned.

The moral of the story here is that not all stalling problems are caused by the same things. The problem has to be diagnosed correctly, or you could end up spending a lot of money.

18th May 2008, 09:52

I have read with interest the comments relating to "check engine" light - I have a 99 Jackaroo with 275K on the clock and today the light came on and stayed on from its first start up - I didn't drive it as this has never happened before and was quite concerned about it, is it safe to continue driving if temp gauge etc are all okay - thus far no other problems are evident including stalling etc - it drives sweet.